


Blood and Bone

by BornofFlame



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Drunk Alya - Freeform, F/M, Werewolf AU, labeled teen and up for language, minor gore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:53:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24301660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BornofFlame/pseuds/BornofFlame
Summary: When the famous Ladybug is hired by Gabriel Agreste to hunt down an elusive Hellhound, she gets a lot more than she bargained for.  Based loosely off of the Miraculous Werewolf! AU.ABANDONED ON DECEMBER 6, 2020 LMAO
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28





	1. Opportunity

**Author's Note:**

> Part one originally posted on my tumblr, miraculous-mused.  
> Please leave kudos and comments. Updates every three days.

She went by many names.

_Huntress_.

_Ladybug_.

_Last chance._

But only a few knew her as a civilian, a normal person.

_Marinette_.

….

Adrien watched the passing cars, waiting for an opportunity to run across the street. It was one of those days, the days where you didn’t feel content in your skin, where the inner demon threatened to break out.

It didn’t help that he was a minority in the population.

Hellhounds, or Chen d’enfer were rare, and the strange creatures that turned them into the damned animals were few and far between.

_Screw Plagg and his lust for cheese._ Adrien thought miserably as he crossed the street and entered the cheese shop.

…

“Ladybug, I’m glad you accepted my invitation.”

“A job is a job Gabriel Agreste, why did you ask for me?”

Ladybug tilted her hood back, the red hood bold against the stark contrast of the white mansion owned by the richest man in Paris.

The rest of her ensemble didn’t match with the aristocratic theme of the Agreste’s either.

Black jeans, knee high leather boots, the famous red hood mixed with a cherry red corset, Ladybug was formidable to say the least.

Gabriel cleared his throat. “There’s a hellhound trespassing my property, destroying my gardens and generally being a threat to my son.”

“I understand, do you have a photo of this hellhound?”

“Security footage, and a description. It has green eyes.”

“I see, one of the rare ones.” Ladybug nodded and turned for the door. “See that the footage gets to me.”

“Of course.”

…

Adrien was walking back home when the fire ripped through his flesh. He collapsed and crawled into a nearby alley, gasping as the transformation overtook him and a scream rattled Paris from the catacombs to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

…

“Girl, you have got to get out more! Like tonight, Nino’s hosting an underground rave, and I heard Adrien was gonna be there.” Alya smirked at her friend and prodded her in the side. “Come on…”

Marinette sighed. “I have work. And Adrien and I are just friends.”

“Whatever, we all know that you like him.”

“Alya, that was years ago.”

“What was years ago?” Adrien sat down across from Marinette and Alya, yawning and exposing sharp canines. He’d had fangs for as long as anyone could remember, and the running theory was that his mother had been a Hound and had passed a few of the genes to him.

“It’s been years since Marinette’s gone out and had some fun!” Nino shook his head as he joined the conversation, sliding into the seat next to the blond.

“That’s such a mood though.” Adrien yawned again and continued his thought, “I have had like a billion photoshoots that I have hardly any time to sleep.”

“You still coming to the underground tonight?”

“Of course, I’m not going to miss this gig. I need a break.” Adrien looked at Marinette with pleading eyes. “You coming?”

“I have work.”

“We always hear about this job of yours, but you haven’t told us ANYTHING about it.” Alya teased as she prodded her friend.

“I’m a Huntress.” Marinette took a sip of water and looked down at her food. “I’m just not very successful, only caught a few.”

“Following Ladybug’s footsteps?” Alya grinned and winked at Nino, who prodded Adrien, who had been glaring moodily at his sandwich.

Marinette smiled softly. “Something like that. Nino, I’ll come to the first hour of your gig, but then I’ll have to go, I got hired for a big catch, one that could make or break my career.”

“I’m glad that you’ll be there dudette. Heard there was gonna be a few Hounds there too, makes me pumped.”

Adrien perked up at this and Marinette caught his eye.

_Interesting._


	2. Shapes and Beats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightclub rave, it’s not like Marinette is going to take a break from being a Huntress, after all, Adrien could be in danger...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on my tumblr, Miraculous-mused.  
> Please leave comments/kudos, the encourage writers to continue producing work.  
> Next update is in a week, my parents are visiting:)

It was loud, and the smoke machines did absolutely nothing to help with the mysterious effect that the club must have been going for. The smell of weed and alcohol was strong and as Marinette wove through the crowd of dancing people, she felt oddly overdressed.

“GiRRLLL! You came!” Alya ran into her, words slurring as she righted herself. “Nino owes me another drink!”

“Alya, I think you’re drunk enough. Wasn’t the drinking age changed to eighteen?”

“Seventeen, eighteen, same difference!” Alya laughed, a high pitched noise that didn’t match her normal self.

“Right.” Marinette gently guided her friend to a seat and set her down before scanning her eyes across the crowd. “Adrien show up yet?”

“Nope!!” Alya giggled and hiccupped before reaching for her phone. “Photo with the Ladyblogger?”

“Uh, no thanks.” the black haired girl scanned the crowd again, recognizing a Hound that Ladybug had caught a week ago. He had black hair with blue tips and simply had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 _Luka. He’d know if there was a green eyed Hound here tonight._ Marinette glanced back at the drunk reporter, who seemed to be having a very interesting conversation with the person next to her, both laughing and talking animatedly.

She ducked away from her friend and walked up to Luka, tapping him on the shoulder.

He turned and grinned, pointed canines showing. “M mmMarinette. Nice to see you here.”

“I’m looking for a Chein d’enfer with green eyes, have you seen him?”

Luka shook his head. “Sorry!”

The bass dropped and the strobe lights flashed again, making her feel a bit dizzy as the beat reverberated through her chest. She stumbled a bit as people jostled her, and Luka caught her, helping her back up.

“I’ll let you know if I see one!” He yelled as the music swelled again. Marinette nodded and left him, slowly trying to walk to the front as people danced to the thrumming music.

 _It’d be so much easier to get through this crowd if I was Ladybug._ She pushed past another girl, who turned and snarled before going back to her partner, dancing close to him as he drank from a broken glass.

“TEENS OF PARIS!” Nino roared into a microphone.

The group cheered, lights flashing, room vibrating.

“READY TO MAKE SOME NOISE? LET’S SHAKE IT UP!” Nino turned up the volume and the crowd roared again, hands flailing up and people jumping, turning the center of the room into a mosh pit. 

Marinette climbed onto the stage and stood next to the DJ, who nodded as he acknowledged her.

“Hello Dudette. I owe Alya a drink, I bet you wouldn’t come.”

“Nino, is Adrien here?”

“No, he dipped like five minutes ago, west exit. Said he wasn’t feeling good.” Nino adjusted the bassline with a toggle and turned the volume up on the mash-up of some rap and techno song Marinette had never heard. “I think he’ll be back in like an hour.”

“I’ve got to go!” Marinette jumped off the stage and struggled to the west exit, opening the doors and slipping into the cool night.

“Tikki, spots on! 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	3. Blood Type

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien gets into a bit of a fight, all the while Ladybug narrows down on the Chien d’enfer that’s causing Gabriel Agreste so much trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor gore and language.  
> Yes I’m updating today and then Saturday, I didn’t want to leave you guys hanging.  
> Go follow my tumblr, miraculous-mused.  
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated!  
> Thank you for reading!

_Fifteen minutes earlier…_

Adrien stood next to Nino, listening as the DJ went through song after song, mixing and dropping beats as he saw fit.

Chein d’enfer was polite, Hellhound was commonplace and Hound was thrown around like slang.

Or an insult, depending on enunciation.

The music was too loud, especially with the recent transformation still enhancing his smell and hearing and it took everything that Adrien had in him not to clap his hands over his ears.

“You good dude? Looking a bit sick.” Nino took off one side of his headphones, worry creasing his face. Adrien shook his head and flashed a model smile at the other boy.

“I’m fine.”

“Alright, but if you have to go, I won’t be upset.” Nino put his headphones back over his ear and continued messing with the music and lighting. Adrien stayed a bit longer and then hopped off the stage, working his way through to the back exit.

When he was out and the door was shut, a small black creature flew from out of his shirt to float in front of him.

“Got any more cheese?”

“Here. You know cheese is bad for cats. Speaking of cats, do I actually qualify as a Chein, or is that just you screwing with me?” Adrien handed the tiny creature a wedge of cheese and leaned against the dirty brick.

“Course you’re a Hellhound. There’s just different varieties, like cheese.”

“Plagg, why does everything with you turn into a conversation about cheese?” Adrien sighed as he picked at his nails. The creature didn’t answer, but continued to eat his snack.

A howl ripped through the night and the blond flinched, wrapping his arms around himself.

“Sounded like a distress call.” the black cat noted as he finished the cheese.

“No Plagg.” He muttered, reaching for the door.

“It would be a shame if you were suddenly-- _transform_.” 

Plagg disappeared with a popping noise and Adrien wanted to yelp as he transformed, legs elongating and growing black fur, senses sharpening and muscles and tendons that didn’t exist a minute ago grew and boiled into shape.

He landed on all fours, hissed and turned his green eyes upward as the howl sounded again.

Plagg had been wrong, it wasn’t a distress howl, it was a feeding call.

There was no way Adrien was going to allow an innocent person to get killed by a rabid Chein d’enfer.

He leapt onto the roof and ran, savoring the speed, the Paris wind in his fur as he jumped from roof to roof, silent as he followed the echo of the Hound.

He landed in the alley, between the Hound and the person, who had the glint of something silver in their hand.

Adrien looked back and saw it was a rosary.

_Superstitious. Great._

The Chein in front of him snarled and Adrien hissed back, both communicating silently.

“Give her up.” The red eyed one choked out, stalking closer as it drooled. Adrien took a step back and shook his head, ears and tail in an alert position.

_No._

“I’ll take care of you, impostor.” It growled, leaping at Adrien. 

Adrien wanted to jump to the side, but he took the blow full on, the Chein’s claws raking into him and tearing at his flesh. Adrien unsheathed his claws and retaliated, gouging at the other Hound’s throat, blood spurting onto the ground and sizzling as it came into contact with the cool air. 

He hoped as they were fighting, that the human would have enough common decency to run.

She did, throwing the rosary at the pair, which hit Adrien in the flank as he clawed at the other.

The rosary did nothing of course. 

The Chein sank his teeth into Adrien’s neck and shook. Adrien, ripped his skin out of the grasp of the teeth and rolled onto his back, clawing at the stomach and tearing the intestines out with his razor sharp claws.

The Chein fell to its side, shrinking into a frail human, who was turning pale and trembling as he bled out from the stomach.

“Why… why did, you.. do this?” he gasped, clutching at the wound. 

Adrien shrank into himself and shook out his hair, helping the person into his lap as their blood mingled on the ground.

“I couldn’t let you kill her.”

“She kill… she killed my wife.”

Adrien’s mouth dropped open in shock and he pressed a hand into the wound. “If you can survive a bit longer, your quickened healing will kick in. Please don’t die on me, I didn’t know.”

The Chein grinned, blood stained teeth orange. “I… know. You, you’re one, one of the good ones.”

“I’m Adrien.”

“Slate. Don’t, don’t let, her go unavenged..” Slate tapped a bloody finger on Adrien’s chest, right where his heart was beating.

“Sorry, about… your lip.”

“It’ll heal.”

“Heh, yeah, I—” Slate’s eyes flashed red and then went dark, his hand falling to the ground and into the pool of blood that Adrien was sitting in.

Adrien looked up, tears filling his eyes.

He closed them and howled, a mourning call into the dark night.

“What the SHIT!” A female voice exclaimed.

Adrien looked to see Ladybug’s bright blue eyes and the red yo-yo spinning in her hand.

_Huntress._

_Oh shit it looked like he just killed someone._


	4. Repetition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug had seen everything from the point of the woman running out of the alley.
> 
> She stopped spinning her yo-yo and it came back to her hand, as she ran to come next to Adrien.
> 
> “Come on, we have to go.” she urged gently, shaking his shoulder.
> 
> “I don’t want to go to jail.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on my tumblr  
> kudos and comments are always appreciated!   
> thanks for reading.  
> I'm gonna try to post chapter five by Wednesday. 
> 
> *blood warning?*

Ladybug had seen everything from the point of the woman running out of the alley.

She stopped spinning her yo-yo and it came back to her hand, as she ran to come next to Adrien.

“Come on, we have to go.” she urged gently, shaking his shoulder.

“I don’t want to go to jail.” Adrien’s voice was numb and as Ladybug knelt next to him, she tucked some of his blood soaked hair behind his ear.

“We’re not going to jail, I need to get you cleaned up.”

He looked up at her, the tears running through the dried blood on his face. “Promise?” He whimpered and Ladybug nodded.

“Promise.” She helped him to his feet and wrapped an arm, pulling him close enough that she’d be able to transfer them to the apartment that Ladybug, not Marinette, owned.

“What about him?”

“The police won’t dust for fingerprints, and we can’t take him with us. It’s just another Hellhound turf war to them. I’m sorry.”

Ladybug swung her yo-yo for momentum and they were off, zipping into the night as she carried Adrien to a rooftop balcony. She popped open the trapdoor and climbed in, with him following her.

She slammed the yo-yo onto the nearby countertop, the opened weapon expanding into a polka dotted laptop.

“Coffee?” She looked up from what she was typing in and he shook his head. Ladybug sighed and pulled an energy drink from a crate and opened it, chugging it as she finished what she was working on.

“Let me show you where the shower is, you’re covered in blood.”

“I don’t have a spare change of clothes.”

“I have a few things you can use.” Ladybug pointed him to the bathroom and then handed him a towel and a folded stack of clothes.

“Thanks.”

“Of course.” Ladybug went back to the main area, pulling the laptop to her as she continued to work on her project.

There were two thousand, one hundred and thirty seven registered Chein d’enfer in Paris. In a population of over two million people, having one Hellhound in every thousand meant that it wasn’t exactly common to meet a Chein in person.

Not one of them was Adrien Agreste.

According to French law, you were required to register yourself as a Hound, so that you’d be able to be treated so.

Footsteps distracted her from her browsing and Ladybug looked up to see Adrien softly walking in. He was wearing grey sweats and a Ladybug themed sweatshirt that a fan had given her when she had first started to be the heroine. He walked and sat at the bar, staring ahead.

“You have a busted lip and probably need medical care on your side and neck.”

“It’ll heal.” Adrien mumbled as he rubbed at the puncture wounds in his neck. Ladybug shook her head and sighed.

“Does your father know?”

His silence said everything. 

“Do you have a kwami?”

“What Chein doesn’t?” Adrien put his head on the counter and plugged his ears. “Can you please not talk as loud? I’m starting to get a headache.”

Ladybug looked back to her computer and closed it quietly, watching as Adrien’s skin knit itself back together, speed healing slowly putting him back together.

A few moments later, he sighed and she realized that he had fallen asleep. Ladybug went over and lifted him from his uncomfortable position, moving him to the couch and gently putting a blanket over him.

She went to the restroom and closed the door, locking it and sinking to the ground.

“Spots off.”

Tikki appeared as Marinette’s ponytail fell into pigtails and her uncanny stamina left her.

“Oh Tikki, what are we supposed to do?” She put her face in her hands and started to cry silently.

“Marinette, you know that he doesn’t know that you’re one of them, you’ll be fine!”

“It’s illegal to be unregistered and you know it! I can’t turn Adrien in to his own father!”

“Calm down, it’ll work itself out.”

Marinette stood and turned on the sink, pulling the hand towel from it’s loop as she stuck in the running water and began to wipe the dried blood off her face.

“I really don’t think it will. I mean, I got all the great parts of being a Chein, it feels more like I’m a superhero rather than a demonic creature. And I get cool gadgets like the yo-yo. What do people like Adrien and Luka get? A curse.”

“Didn’t you date Luka?” Tikki pointed to a bit of blood behind Marinette’s ear. Marinette cursed as she felt it. 

There was too much blood in her hair for a simple wipe. She sighed and turned on the shower, taking out her hairties as she stuck her head in and started to spray out the mess with the detachable shower head.

“See, I think the problem with Adrien being here is that if he’s one of the slower speed healers, he won’t be able to go to school tomorrow.” Marinette turned the shower off and wrapped the towel around her blue black locks and started to squeeze out the excess water.

“He’s gonna wake up hungry.”

“I know, I should go pull out the bacon from the freezer and cook it up.” She opened the bathroom door--

_Right to a staring Adrien._

“Marinette?”

“This isn’t what it looks like.” she blurted out automatically, throwing the towel behind her as she swatted her kwami into hiding.

“You’re Last Chance? Ladybug? Huntress?” Adrien looked her up and down and put a hand on his neck, wincing as it hit the still healing punctures.

“I’m too tired to deal with this.” He muttered, slumping forward as he passed out again.

Marinette caught him before he could faceplant, dragging him back to the couch and flopping the sleeping blond back.

_I’ll deal with this tomorrow._


	5. Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Adrien had heard the crying in the bathroom, he had assumed that Ladybug was still transformed and she was just in shock about... about who he was.
> 
> He was not expecting to see Marinette.
> 
> So he did the only logical thing.
> 
> He passed out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey readers! Thanks for sticking with me as we are now on chapter five! I'm thinking that this will go maybe ten chapters, but not quite sure.  
> kudos and comments are always appreciated!  
> minor blood(?) surgical procedures.  
> Originally posted on my tumblr.  
> anyway, this chapter is for falling oceans.  
> Oh yeah, I’m going to update Sunday this week

When Adrien had heard the crying in the bathroom, he had assumed that Ladybug was still transformed and she was just in shock about... about who he was.

He was not expecting to see Marinette.

So he did the only logical thing.

He passed out. 

When he woke up, his arms were wrapped around something warm and his first thought was that Marinette was sleeping with him, but when he opened his eyes, the couch cushion that he had pulled off from under him rolled to the floor.

He sat up and stretched, yawning as his canines flashed in the dim lighting.

_I'm hungry. I wonder if Ladybug has any food._ He shrugged the blanket off and got up, heading into the small kitchenette and opening the freezer. As he riffled through the freezer, he pulled out a pack of bacon and set it on the ground.

_Am I supposed to thaw this, or do I just throw the frozen pack in a pot of water, holy damn, I don’t know how to cook this._

Adrien picked up the pack and ripped it open, frozen crystals scattering across the ground as he pulled the raw bacon out with bare hands.

“What are you doing?”

Adrien started, dropping the empty package. “Sorry Ladybug.”

Marinette rolled her eyes and dragged a hand across her face, sighing. “Please Adrien, we’ve sat next to each other for the past two years, you can call me Marinette.”

“Right, sorry Marinette. I.. It’s just crazy finding out that my celebrity crush/fear and the girl that I liked last year was the same person.”

Marinette’s eyes widened in shock. “You liked Ladybug?”

Adrien nodded nervously, a blush spreading down his face and into his neck. “Well, that was before I became a Chein and Ladybug became a Huntress. Things would be complicated to say the least.”

“Adrien, you know Ladybug only hunts criminals.”

“Then why did my father hire you to hunt me?” Adrien asked and he put the chunk of frozen bacon into the pan.

“He doesn’t know it’s you. And let me cook the bacon, you have to let it defrost in the microwave.” Marinette took the frozen chunk out of the pan and placed it on a plate that she slid into the microwave.

“Can I meet your kwami?”

He went to respond, but a buzzing from the couch interrupted them.

“Miraculous, simply the best, up to the test when things--”

“That’s my phone.” Marinette vaulted over the counter and grabbed the pink phone from between the cushions and pressed it to her ear.

“Hey Mama. No I’m fine… I crashed at a friend’s house. No, I didn’t have a boy over…” She glanced at Adrien before resuming her conversation, “I’ve got some work stuff I need to do today, but I promise that I’ll be home for dinner tonight. Okay, I love you too, bye.” she hung up and threw the phone back onto the couch and then walked back over to Adrien.

“You going to call your dad?”

“No, he knows that I was going to be out for the weekend. I promised him that I’d be back Monday.”

“He’s certainly changed a lot from when you first had simple desires to go to school.” Marinette grinned up at him and put a few slices of bacon on the pan, adjusting them with tongs.

“So you just don’t put the whole thing on?”

“No, you have to separate the slices, they literally come that way.” Marinette held back a giggle and turned the slices over as he watched, enraptured by the whole process. Marinette pulled the first round off and continued to cook the bacon.

“Do you want to talk about last night? I noticed that your wounds are almost healed, I think that that’s the fastest healing I’ve seen on a Chein d’enfer.”

Adrien grabbed some of the bacon and bit into it, savoring it’s warmth as he closed his eyes. “I think I’m just lucky.”

“Something like that. How much bacon do you usually eat?”

“Like a slice? Father doesn’t like foods high in fat.”

“Really? During the summer, I can go through a kilo at a time.” Marinette aggressively bit into her slice, chewing furiously. “I thought that you’d have a similar metabolism to me.”

“Why? Are you an unregistered?”

Marinette stiffened a bit and gave a nervous laugh. “Ha! That’d be hilarious, me, a Chein? Huntress hunting her own kind!”

Adrien nodded suspiciously. “Right.”

“We need to figure out how I’m going to throw your dad off your tail---literally--- so that you can continue to lead a semi normal life.” Marinette sat on the counter as she turned off the stovetop, her legs swinging back and forth as she munched another strip of bacon. 

“You’ll help me?”

“Of course, that’s what friends are for.” 

“Could I ask for a small favor right now?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Adrien lifted up his shirt, showing a still very open wound. “Slate hit me harder than I expected and I think it needs stitches.”

Marinette stared at the wound for a moment, gears turning and Adrien dipped his head. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s fine!” She squeaked, jumping up and reaching into a cabinet and pulling out a medical kit. “I’ve stitched up worse on myself here, just go sit on the couch and take off the sweatshirt so blood doesn’t get on it.”

Adrien complied and Marinette sat down next to him, deftly threading the needle and dipping it in rubbing alcohol. 

“This will sting. A shit ton too, so just, try not to scream too loud.”

Adrien nodded. “Right.” 

Marinette paused for a moment, biting her lip. “I really don’t want to do this. I always feel bad when I have to deliberately hurt someone.”

“It’s okay, you’ll just be stabbing me back to life.”

She snickered and stuck the needle in, feeling him tense up as she continued her work. 

“I probably should have given you a ibuprofen.” 

“It doesn’t do much- ach! - anyway.” Adrien gave a sharp gasp as Marinette sewed another stitch.

“Almost done.”

“Great.” Adrien hissed the word, pressing his hands together tightly as she finished up, tying the string and sniping it free. 

“Sorry.”

“It’s nothing. Really, thank you.” Adrien reached for his shirt and pulled it on, wincing. “It’s always weird that you feel worse after being taken care of?”

“Mmhmmn.” Marinette stood and put the needle in a glass, pouring rubbing alcohol in to disinfect it. “You have any plans for today?”

“No.” Adrien shook his head and looked up at the ceiling. “Is there a door besides the skylight?”

“Yeah, past the bathroom.”

“Thanks.” Adrien smiled briefly and then started walking for the door, Plagg popping from out of the wall and following behind him. When he got to the door he turned and saw Marinette staring pensively out the window.

“Marinette?”

She snapped out of it and looked at him. “Lock turns to the right.”

“No, I wanted to say that your secret’s safe with me. Please don’t tell Father about mine.”

“Of course.”

Then he opened the door and was gone. 


	6. Phone Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette does some digging.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah, it's been a long time since I've posted here, but I did it! yay!  
> I'm really exhausted and my typing wrist hurts, ripppp.  
> enjoy and don't forget to comment/leave kudos!

Ladybug jumped from building to building, carefully navigating to her family’s bakery as she tracked over the city that she called home. 

She was on the phone-- yo-yo -- while running and it wasn’t exactly the best plan as she tripped, muttering curses as she skid to a stop.

“Girl, you good?” Alya’s voice came from the other side and Ladybug sighed.

“Don’t run and call people. It’s never a good idea.” She laughed as she sat on the edge of the roof, legs swinging as she continued to talk.

“I wish I didn’t have a hangover.” Alya groaned from the other end. “Marinette, where did you go after we talked? I spent ages looking for you!”

“I had some work.” Ladybug pulled an apple from her pocket and took a bite, lips puckering at the sourness. 

“Really? Nino told me that you ran after Adrien.”

“What? NO! We just used the same exit, I totally didn’t see him.” She blushed, despite her friend not being there.

“Oh come on, you’d totally tell me if you did.”

“Definitely wouldn’t.” Ladybug finished her apple and tossed the core down, bouncing off a car roof and into a garbage can way down in the street below. 

“If you ever kiss Adrien Agreste, you will tell me.”

Ladybug sighed and relented, quickly finishing her call with Alya and standing, jumping down into the alley.

“Spots off.” Marinette shook her head, pigtails bobbing as she caught Tikki and slipped her a cookie before hiding her in the coin bag by her side.

It was ironic, she was able to control her transformation, had kick ass abilities and tech that came with the job, a reputation that exceeded her name and loving parents. Meanwhile, Adrien got stuck with a kwami that was borderline abusive, a father that was borderline neglectful, abilities that made it painful for him to function as a human and to top it off, he smelled like cheese unless he drowned himself in sage and lavender.

She walked quickly to the locale’s police force and entered the building, stepping around a passed out man in the front office and making her way to the front desk.

“Hey, can I access the annex?” 

“Are you in the police force, an intern, or a Hunter/Huntress? We don’t allow kids in the files.

“I have a licence.” Marinette slid the silver card across the desk, watching it get scanned and handed back to her.

“I think that they’re letting kids do the dirty work. It’s going to get someone killed.”

“That’s why I’m here actually.” Marinette tucked her card away and walked slowly to the annex, fiddling with her phone and the spare key that had been given to her so she could get it.

The annex was dusty, full of boxes and boxes of records that stretched back over hundreds of years, from when the catacombs were first built until now. Marinette grabbed the nearest box and sat on it, quietly pulling out her yo-yo and slamming the bottom against her palm.

The yo-yo opened and expanded out to her polka dotted laptop, a few pages still open to the news reports from last night.

“Okay, where would I find the reports for Emilie’s disappearance?” She muttered as she started to go through the box next to her.

“This is from thirty years ago, is there any organization here?”

“I could help?” Tikki stuck her head from out of Marinette’s coat pocket, before flying out the rest of the way. “I can just phase through boxes until I find the one with her stuff in it.”

“Tikki, we don’t even know if Emilie was a Chein d’enfer. But if she’s not, Adrien’s father might be and that’s a whole box of worms I don’t want to open right now.”

“Isn’t the phrase can of worms?”

Marinette sneezed and a plumage of dust floated up, making her cough even more. “Fine, but be quiet, you know that I can’t stand the dust.”

Tikki squealed happily and zoomed off, on her own personal search for a mysterious box in the dust. Marinette stayed where she was, digging through old and obscure deaths that had never been cataloged, Cheins that had been killed in turf wars and serial killers that hunted minorities. 

She pulled a book out of the box and dusted the cover off, trying to read what the cracked leather said. 

“Tikki? Have you found anything?”

“No, have you Marinette?”

“I think so? But even if I didn’t, we have to go soon, the bakery is about to hit the five o’clock rush, so Mama and Papa will need me.” Marinette slid the book into her backpack before standing and dusting off her pants.

Tikki soared from her hiding spot and landed back in Marinette’s pocket, before curling up and closing her eyes. “Back home.”

“Back home.” Marinette agreed wearily.


End file.
